All or Nothing
by OurLoveIsForever
Summary: She needed time to escape. He was willing to pay the price.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. JK Rowling does. **

**All or Nothing **

**By: OurLoveIsForever**

She rose up on the tip of her toes, nearly losing her balance in the fever of the moment. He backed her against the jamb of the door, grinning into the passion. One hand slipped from her hair to her back to keep the sharp angle of the wood from hurting her shoulders. Her eyes closed tightly, squeezing shut to keep the tears at bay.

After a few long moments, Draco pulled back, tugging at the hem of his suit jacket as if to pull out the newly formed wrinkles. There was a moment of pure silence that hung over them like a glistening blade dangling on Madam Guillotine.

The silence was broken by one single, flawless phrase. "I love you."

Draco raised his head, taking in his beautiful wife before curtly nodding his head. Setting a grimace upon his face, he stepped out of the door, ready. She disappeared into the drawing room. He could already hear her muttered spells.

The sky was a muted red, as if fires were burning on the horizon. He could see some of the flames leaping into the air over the trees. The Bell and Yancey households were ablaze, their once vivacious tenants most likely slaughtered in the night. His gaze slid down the towering conifers to the front lawn. Standing upon the well manicured grass, shadowed by the glow of the clouds, stood the executioners, their wands at the ready.

"Draco Malfoy?"

Draco pulled his chin up higher and looked down the length of his long, thin nose. "What of it? Have you come to put me to death?" There was a sneer in his tone, a drawl that was uncanny to the Malfoy patriarch.

One of the black robed figures laughed raucously, the sound ripping apart the eerie silence. "You're the one that is being stubborn, Mister Malfoy."

"Best to be stubborn this time, gentlemen."

"Why's that? You were always the best at running away before, mate."

Draco knew that voice, but the question required no thought, not a moment of hesitation. He had known, Draco had, that the day would come eventually when he would have to atone for his past indiscretions, when he would have to pay penance. His only wish was that he could stall them long enough. "I'm not putting my son in the same position that my father put me."

"Still riding that old broom, eh, Draco?"

"If the broom flies—" His nonchalant shrug seemed to catch the robed men off guard somewhat. His arms crossed over his chest as a slow smirk spread over his face. "I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you lads, but Scorpius can't come out and play. He's currently with the Potters at a concealed-_safe_- location."

As the wand rose, he did not attempt to battle his way out. He was resigned to the fate that awaited him, but he would be damned if they made it to Astoria alive. His wand was slashing through the air faster than one could say 'quidditch'. His middle aged body was struggling to keep up with the younger dark wizards that were battling him. Even for that, his skill was winning out. Twenty years of seniority was proving the most beneficial. Years of relentless training with Theodore Nott had kept his body is pristine condition, as it should be. He was a Malfoy, after all.

That's not to mention that Astoria would've nagged him to get off of his lazy arse should he have taken any sort of break.

He leapt to the left and realized his mistake instantly. He had landed beside a nook of the house, the space where the window seat of the parlor jutted out from the wall.

One word wrecked through his mind: trapped.

His back hit the wall just as he heard a scream from inside. She should've been gone! She should've left minutes ago! What was that blasted woman thinking! This was no time for her hardheadedness! The whole point of this was for her to safely escape! In his moment of distraction at his wife's pained scream, a flash of red light stunned the Malfoy patriarch off his feet. He slammed against the brick side of the house, his head cracking on the impact, sending a shot of pain through his body as he crumbled. There was no doubt that his skull was cracked.

"Ah the Mighty Draco Malfoy! You've fallen." A voice said in his head. It wasn't his thoughts, rather a foreign accent tinged with that Scottish twang. Draco struggled to his feet fast, raising his wand. Astoria was still inside, there was a chance that she was still alive.

It was all or nothing.

He would give his all for her. Now.

"You stay away from my family, Brenner." Malfoy hissed, coiling like a snake. "You stay away from my wife...and my son."

"I believe _she_ is already dead, old man." Brenner laughed merrily. Draco could not breathe. He could not think. He was completely still for a long moment before the memories started to replay in his mind. His wife's kiss, her smile; she was his soul mate. His purposal on the ocean shore nearly twenty years before. Her grin at being pregnant. She was gone. There was no lie in the Dark Wizard's words. He could feel it, that disconnect, like the other end of the rope was slack. His anchor to this life was gone.

Malfoy pulled himself up to stand at his full height. At least Scorpius was safe. He could trust Potter with that much at least. He would be damned if a Malfoy went without a steep price. Being Draco Malfoy, his price would be the highest. "_Eternus incendia_!" He shouted, whipping his wand around faster than his opponents could think. For a moment, the air was charged. The very particles of the air were heating up quickly, beginning to glow a bright, fiery orange. Draco let out a hollow chuckle at the curse. Millennia of Malfoy ancestry had led him to one final curse. It was best to go out in flames, to use one last memorable task. That plasma-like air rushed forward and down the rulunctant throat of Brenner.

The man coughed and gagged, jerking this way and that while standing. The contortions of his body were painful to even witness. Bones bent at odd angles and his neck snapped to the side. The life did not leave his eyes though. The man was still very much alive.

Draco Malfoy may have been older and wiser, but he was also more despicable, in a way that no one would understand for years to come. He stumbled forward, clutching his side, toward the Dark Wizard. It was grotesque, the mangled remains of what was once a man crying out before him. "The curse of eternal fire, _Lord _Brenner. Now you are your own personal hell. I hope it serves you well. You should never trifle with my family, lad. You'll always get worse than you bargin for." With a mock bow to the pathetic sight, Malfoy began to hobble toward his front door intent on finding his wife.

When his foot rested on the first step, he looked up to see her lying in the foyer. Her green eyes, once bright with life and love for him, were glazed and dull. Empty as their once warm manor which was now in shambles. He could vaguely smell the harsh stench of black smoke, but he could not yet see the flames. His motor functions were failing quickly and he remained still.

When he heard the Death Curse, he didn't move. It was all or nothing. He wasn't going to keep going without her. Not when it would be a half life. "It's you and I, Tori." He murmured, seeing the shadow of his body outlined in green on her corpse before the spell struck.

-

**A/N:** I hope everyone enjoyed. I may eventually add more to this story. It was a bit spur of the moment. Things have been rather hectic here and I have been struggling to get any writing in. If I come out with anything else with this or anything else, the updates will be sparse. If you're willing, please stick with me. Thank you everyone for your continued support and please leave me some feedback!

Inspiration: All or Nothing- Theory of a Deadman


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